DeepCough
Hell House: A Documentary (Video)
The post on the Christian horror movie Harmless made me think of this interesting documentary from 2001 of a small town setting up a “Hell House,” to warn people of the horrendous consequences of Sin:
Hell Houses are a distinctly American phenomenon which began in 1990 just outside of Dallas, at the Trinity Assembly of God Church. The original Hell House was conceived as a modern-day fire-and-brimstone sermon. Today, this religious ceremony of sorts is replete with actors, extensive lighting equipment and full audio-visual tech crews.
Netherlands Judge Backs Cannabis Cafe Ban For Foreign Tourists
Via BBC News:
A judge in the Netherlands has upheld a new law to ban foreign tourists from entering cannabis cafes.
While soft drugs are tolerated, there is growing concern at tourists visiting just for drugs, and foreign dealers selling illegally at home.
The ban is due to start in three southern provinces next month, and go nationwide by the end of the year.
A group of cafe owners argued at The Hague district court that the ban was discriminatory against foreigners. Under the new law, Dutch residents will still be allowed into the cafes, as long as they have valid identification, or possibly hold a new “weed pass”, which is also being debated. There are about 700 coffee shops, as they are called, in the Netherlands. The cultivation and sale of soft drugs through them is decriminalised, although not legal; police generally tolerate possession of up to five grams of cannabis.
Did A Secret Music Industry Meeting Invent “Gangsta Rap” Music?
If you believe that the CIA pushed crack cocaine into poor black neighborhoods in the inner cities, then you might wanna take a look at this. Ivan posts on Hip Hop Is Read:
This anonymous letter landed in my inbox about a minute ago:
Hello,
After more than 20 years, I’ve finally decided to tell the world what I witnessed in 1991, which I believe was one of the biggest turning point in popular music, and ultimately American society. I have struggled for a long time weighing the pros and cons of making this story public as I was reluctant to implicate the individuals who were present that day. So I’ve simply decided to leave out names and all the details that may risk my personal well being and that of those who were, like me, dragged into something they weren’t ready for.
Between the late 80’s and early 90’s, I was what you…
President Obama’s Top Official (In Charge of Drug Control Policy) Conflates Hemp with Marijuana
Once again, Gil Kerlikowske makes it a point to fulfill his job description as head propagandist of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Reports Stephen C. Webster on the RAW Story:
In a recent response to a White House petition, President Barack Obama’s drug czar warned of danger in the domestic production of industrial hemp, drawing a stunned reaction from the petition’s author, who told Raw Story on Wednesday that it was “like getting hit in the head with a hammer.”
The claim by former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, his second response to a marijuana-related White House petition, is not surprising as it reflects current U.S. policy toward marijuana. It is, however, simply not true that THC in hemp poses any sort of potential for abuse, as it is impossible to become “high” from ingesting the plant.
“America’s farmers deserve our Nation’s help and support to ensure rural America’s prosperity and…
Hollywood Gives Marijuana the ‘Scarface’ Treatment
When one looks at all the movies that Hollywood has put out over the years, it\’s hard not to get the feeling that the movie industry trumps up the Drug War by romanticizing it with hardcore action films like Savages directed by Oliver Stone, the latest schlocky action movie about the drug business:
A Free Coca-Cola For A Hug? (Video)
Only in the East do you see crazy shit like this (from corporate marketing machines):
Should President Obama Be Impeached?
I’m not saying any president is immune to the law, no matter who it is, but am I the only one who senses the hypocrisy of this campaign in light of the events that occurred a decade ago under the Bush
administration?
Ron Paul: the Road to REVOLution Video Game
This takes the Ron Paul ad campaign to the next level:
Ways The Government Tracks You
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you… Bill Quigley writes on Counterpunch:
Privacy is eroding fast as technology offers government increasing ways to track and spy on citizens. The Washington Post reported there are 3,984 federal, state and local organizations working on domestic counterterrorism. Most collect information on people in the US. Here are thirteen examples of how some of the biggest government agencies and programs track people.
One. The National Security Agency (NSA) collects hundreds of millions of emails, texts and phone calls every day and has the ability to collect and sift through billions more. Wired just reported NSA is building an immense new data center which will intercept, analyze and store even more electronic communications from satellites and cables across the nation and the world. Though NSA is not supposed to focus on US citizens, it does.
Two. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Security Branch…
Netflix Super PAC Supports SOPA
So you thought that $8 a month was a sweet deal? Well, guess what else comes with it. Stephen C. Webster reports on RAW Story:
Video streaming giant Netflix has recognized the compelling financial logic behind Washington’s anti-piracy efforts.
In a recent filing with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), Netflix revealed that it has created its own political action committee called FLIXPAC, designed to support anti-piracy measures in Washington and the candidates that favor them.
The FEC filing, made April 5, was first spotted by Politico. The company has seen its spending on federal lobbying ramp up in recent years, going from approximately $20,000 in 2009 to half a million in 2011, amid heated debates in Washington over restrictions on Americans’ Internet use.
Those restrictions, represented most clearly in the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), were initially supported by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who reportedly sent a letter to the Chamber of Commerce expressing solidarity…
FBI: “We’re Not Winning” Against Hackers
Devlin Barrett reports in the Wall Street Journal:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s top cyber cop offered a grim appraisal of the nation’s efforts to keep computer hackers from plundering corporate data networks: “We’re not winning,” he said.
Shawn Henry, who is preparing to leave the FBI after more than two decades with the bureau, said in an interview that the current public and private approach to fending off hackers is “unsustainable.” Computer criminals are simply too talented and defensive measures too weak to stop them, he said.
His comments weren’t directed at specific legislation but came as Congress considers two competing measures designed to buttress the networks for critical U.S. infrastructure, such as electrical-power plants and nuclear reactors. Though few cybersecurity experts disagree on the need for security improvements, business advocates have argued that the new regulations called for in one of the bills aren’t likely to better protect computer networks …
Why the Supreme Court Should Kill ‘Obamacare’
Today, the anti-Obamacare protest is happening in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, and it is hearing arguments as to why the Affordable Healthcare Act (a.k.a. “Obamacare”) should be thrown out. Dave Lindorff writes on Counterpunch on why “Obamacare” should be repealed to instead force Americans to decide that Medicare should be available to everyone as it would reduce our costs substantially:
The US Supreme Court has a chance to do the people of America a big favor, perhaps atoning at last for its shameful betrayal of the electoral system in 2000 when a conservative majority stole the Florida, and national election, for George W. Bush, and for the liberal-led and equally shameful betrayal of fundamental property rights in the Kelo v New London case that, in 2005, upheld the public theft of private homes in Connecticut on behalf of a government-backed resort development. The court can atone for these betrayals by…
40 Years Ago, A Congressional Commission Told The Truth About Marijuana
So you think the government has been lying to you about the effects of cannabis (marijuana)?
Well, are you aware that the United States Congress concluded with the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, a.k.a., the Shafer Commission:
“…that the] possession of marijuana for personal use no longer be an offense, [and that the] casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration, no longer be an offense.”
Paul Armentano writes a brief synopsis on NORML’s blog on how the U.S. federal government has ignored its own fact-finding in favor of doing the opposite and counter-intuitive for the past forty years.
Also, for those of you that would like to read the Shafer Commission report, “Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding,” you can check it out here at the Shafer Library of Drug Policy.
Bill Maher: Please Stop Apologizing
In this editorial from the New York Times, Bill Maher decides to “Be More Cynical” and gives a stoic position:
This week, Robert De Niro made a joke about first ladies, and Newt Gingrich said it was “inexcusable and the president should apologize for him.” Of course, if something is “inexcusable,” an apology doesn’t make any difference, but then again, neither does Newt Gingrich.
Mr. De Niro was speaking at a fund-raiser with the first lady, Michelle Obama. Here’s the joke: “Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?”
The first lady’s press secretary declared the joke “inappropriate,” and Mr. De Niro said his remarks were “not meant to offend.” So, as these things go, even if the terrible damage can never be undone, at least the healing can begin. And we can move on to the next time we choose sides…
The TSA According To South Park
In the latest season premiere of South Park, the Transportation Security Administration gets a long, long overdue lampooning:
Selling KONY
For all the cynicism of this photo-comic, I thought it was hilarious (click image to view or here):
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Virginia Senate Passed NDAA Nullification Bill
One of those rare, rare moments when you see federalism actually work. Joe Wolverton writes in the New American:
On January 16, Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall (left) introduced HB 1160, a bill designed to “prevent any agency, political subdivision, employee, or member of the military of Virginia from assisting an agency or the armed forces of the United States in the investigation, prosecution, or detainment of a United States citizen in violation of the Constitution of Virginia.”
After being passed on Valentine’s Day by an overwhelming majority (96–4) in the House, the bill was sent to the Senate for deliberation by that chamber. In a telephone conversation with this reporter, Delegate Marshall broke the latest news of the procedural progress of his very important legislation …
… Marshall’s bill is the first measure in the nation that is based on the Liberty Preservation Act. This model legislation (a copy of which is available…
Bill Maher On The ‘Joke Candidate’
Y’know, it’s not wrong to think that Obama is the only logical choice in 2012, and not because he is the right choice, but because the GOP has no real mainstream contenders who can speak a lick of sense on any issue. But Bill Maher gives a rather ominous perspective on just how much the “joke candidate” can become the “underdog-elect” in November.
One Dead, Four Hurt in Ohio High School Shooting
Why do I get a sinking feeling that, once again, psychiatric drugs are behind this? Via CNN:
A gunman wounded five students, one of them fatally, at a suburban Cleveland high school Monday morning before apparently being chased out of the building by a teacher, police said at a news conference. The Chardon High School shooting suspect — believed to be a student, according to a school official mdash; was in custody after turning himself in to bystanders, police said.
Two students injured in the shooting, one boy and one girl, were taken to Hillcrest Hospital, spokeswoman Heather Phillips said. One was in serious condition, the other in stable condition, she said. Three students were taken by helicopter to MetroHealth Medical Center, hospital representative Shannon Mortland said in a statement. Mortland did not provide details on their conditions.
